Take down archery bow with a mount for a bow stabilizing element

ABSTRACT

An archery bow with limbs detachably connected to a handle section. The butt end portions of the limbs are freely entered in close fitting relationship between longitudinally spaced forward and rear wall portions of sockets formed in the ends of the handle section. A fixed pin extending fore and aft across the bottom of each socket engages a groove in the end of the limb and a short stud projecting from the rear side of each limb parallel with the fixed pin and spaced from the end of the limb enters a hole in the rear socket wall in close fitting relationship to position and hold the limbs in lateral alignment. A thumb screw extends through the rear wall of each socket and is threadedly engaged in the short projecting studs to clamp the limbs to the rear socket walls. The forward socket walls are shorter than the rear walls and a portion of each rear socket wall near the bottom is relieved to permit entry of the limbs in a slightly forward tilted position thereby to permit free entry of the limbs between the socket wall portions and to permit entry of the short projecting studs.

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United States Patent 1 Hoyt, Jr. I i

[ 1 June 4,1974

TAKE DOWN ARCHERY BOW WITH A MOUNT FOR A BOW STABILIZING ELEMENTlnventor: Earl H. Hoyt, Jr., 1 l5 10 Natural Bridge Rd., Bridgeton, Mo.65617 Filed: July 21, 1972 Appl. No.: 274,095

References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS (3/1953 Fredrickson 124/23 R8/l966 Gage 6/l96 7 Grublc 9/1970 Karl'm l24/24R PriniaryExaminerRichard C. Pinkham Assistant ExaminerWilliam R. Browne Attorney,Agent, or FirmCharles E. Markham [57] ABSTRACT An archery bow with limbsdetachably connected to a handle section. The butt end portions of thelimbs are freely entered in close fitting relationship betweenlongitudinally spaced forward and rear wall portions of sockets formedin the ends ofthe handle section. A fixed pin extending fore and aftacross the bottom of each socket engages a groove in the end of the limband a short stud projecting from the rear side of each limb parallelwith the fixed pin and spaced from the end of the limb enters a hole inthe rear socket wall in close fitting relationship to position and holdthe limbs in lateral alignment. A thumb screw extends through the rearwall of each socket and is threadedly engaged in the short projectingstuds to clamp the limbs to the rear socket walls. The forward socketwalls are shorter than the rear walls and a portion of each rear socketwall near the bottom is relieved to permit entry of the limbs in aslightly forward tilted position thereby to permit free entry of thelimbs between the socket wall portions and to permit entry of the shortprojecting studs.

9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUN 4:914 K 3314.075 4 SHEET 2 (IF 2TAKE DOWN ARCHERY BOW WITH A MOUNT FOR A BOW STABILIZING ELEMENT Thisinvention relates to take down bows in which the limb members of the boware detachably connected to a handle section and particularly to novelmeans for aligning and detachably connecting the limbs to the handlesection.

It is essential that the flat, recurved limbs of present day bows bepositioned and secured in the handle section with the flat front andrear surfaces thereof precisely parallel and perpendicular to the lineof flight and with the rearward cant of the limbs at the proper fore andaft angle required to provide the desired de-' flex angle relative tothe bow string. It is also highly desirable in a take down bow that thelimbs may be conveniently and quickly assembled and secured in suchproper and precise alignment and that they may be convenientlydisassembled without thenecessity of applying any appreciable force.Moreover, and apart from the desirability of providing a take down bowof pleasing appearance and without significant departure in appearancefrom the traditional one piece bow, it is. also advantageous from thepoint of reliability as well as economy to provide a particularly simpletake down bow construction requiring a minimum of functional elements.

Some earlier take down bows employed a quite simple means of detachablyconnectingthe bow limbs. Tapered butt portions of the limbs of taperedmetal ferrules attached thereto were merely entered into tapered socketsin the handle section, the f t being close enough to hold the limbs inalignment in a braced or unbraced condition. As would be expected, itfrequently required a great amount of force in this arrangement to pullthe bow limbs out of the sockets when disassembling. Y.

In a more recent take down bow construction, the inner end portions orbutt sections of the bow limbs are wedge shaped with their rear sidesinclined considerably with respect to the general axis of adjacent limbportions and these inclined rear sides lie against inclined platesattached to the handle section. The limbs are aligned in thisarrangementby the provision] of Iongitudinal and transverse guide barson the inclined plates which enter longitudinal and transverse groovesin the inclined rear sides of the limb butt sections. The

inclined plates attached to the handle section are formed at their lowerends to provide a pocket into which the toe or ends of the wedge shapedbutt sections are entered. To retain the limb butt sections against theinclined plates in this arrangement a hinged plate overlying the forwardsurfaces of the limb butt sections with latch means for latching thehinged plate is provided.

tional bow limbs havingbutt sections with parallel forward and rear flatsides.

A further object is to provide a take down bow hav- "ing a rigid handlesection with sockets or recesses formed in the ends thereof having flatparallel forward rear walls adapted to interchangeably receive bow limbshaving butt sections with parallel forward and rear sides in which theparallel front and rear walls of the sockets or recesses are inclinedrearwardly to provide the desired deflex of the bow limbs.

' A further object is to provide a take down bow having a rigid handlesection with sockets formed in the ends thereof having flat parallelforward and rear wall portions and bow limbs having butt sections withparallel forward and rear sides adapted to closely fit between theforward and rear wall portions of the sockets or notches, in which theforward walls of the sockets are shorter than the rear walls and aportion of each rear socket wall adjacent the bottom of the socket isrelieved so that the parallel forward and rear socket wall portionswhich engage the forward and rear sides of the limb butt sections arespaced longitudinally and so that the limb butt sections may be freelyentered into the sockets in a slightly forwardly inclined position withrespect to the socket wall portions and may then be rotated slightly toa position in which the sides of the bow limb butt sections and thesocket wall portions are parallel.

A further object is to provide a take down bow as in the precedingparagraph in which a fore and aft extending element fixed in the bottomof each socket engages a fore and aft extending groove in-the very endof each limb butt section and in which a short stud projecting from therear side of each limb butt section engages a hole in the rear wall ofeach socket spaced outwardly from the bottom of the socket thereby toalign and retain the bow limbs in lateral alignment and retain themagainst outward longitudinal movement.

A further object is to provide a take down bow as in the two precedingparagraphs in which screw threaded means extending coaxially with theshort studs in the bow limbs and extending through the rear socket wallsclamps the bow limbs to the rear socket walls.

Further objects and advantageswill appear from the following completedescription when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings,

. FIG. I is a side elevationalfview of a take-down bow constructedin'accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view of the bowshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the bow shownin FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a further enlarged fragmentary front elevational view of theupper portion of the limb handle section with an adjoining portion ofthe upper limb;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the fragmentary portion shown inFIG. 4 with parts taken along line 5-5 shown sectionalized;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partially sectionalized fragmentary view takenalong line 6-6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the thumb screwdetachedfrom the bow limb and retained in the handle section.

Referringtothe drawings in more detaiL-the bow comprises a cast metalhandle section 10, an upper limb l2, alower limb 14, a bow string 16,and upper and lower stabilizers 18. The stabilizers 18 shown in 3' FIG;1 are omitted in FIGS. 2 to 5. The handle section has an intermediatehand grip portion and upper and lower identical end portions 22 in whichare formed bow limb receiving sockets 24, see FIGS. 5 and 6. The sockets24 are defined by a rear wall 26, a somewhat shorter forward wall 28, abottom wall 30, and incomplete side walls 32. The forward wall 28, theside walls 32 and the outer portion 27 of the rear wall areall'parallel. The inner portion 29 of the rear wall near the bottom ofthe'socket is relieved or inclined for a purpose to be described.

The bow limbs 12 and 14 are shown as having con ventional recurve formand are shown constructed of a hard wood core with forward andrearfacings of fiber glass. They may, for the purpose of this invention,be of any suitable form and construction. Whatever the form andconstruction however both limbs are provided with butt sections 34having forward and rear parallel side portions 36 and 38.

Extending fore and aft across the sockets 24 andvery near the bottomwalls thereof are pins 40 press fitted in bores 42 extending through thefront walls 28 and into the rear walls 26. The pins 40 have heads 44 atthe forward ends thereof and blind screw threaded bores 46 which receivethe screw threaded inner ends of the stabilizers 18 shown in FIG. 1. Theends of the'bow limb butt sections 34 are provided with groovesextending fore and aft there across which grooves have lateral surfaceswhich receive the pins in close fit relationship, see FlGS. 5 and 6.

A second pin 48 extends fore and aft through each limb butt section at apoint spaced outwardly from pin 40 and near the outer end of the rearsocket wall 26. Thepins 48 project a short distance from the rearsurfaces 38 of the butt sections and these projecting portions of pins48 form short studs 50 which are adapted to be entered into shallowcounterbores 52 in the rear socket wall portions 26. The rear ends ofpins 48 have axial blind bores 5 4 which in turn have reduced diameterscrew threaded portions 55 at their inner ends. The rear socket wallportions 27 each havea short screw threaded bore 58 coaxial with thecounterbore 52. The forward ends of pins 48 have large decorative heads60 which lie against'the forward surfaces of the limbs. A knurled headedthumb screw 56 has a small diameter shank57 and an enlarged diameterscrew threaded end portion 59 which may be retained in a detachedposition in the screw threads 58 in the handle section, as

shown in FIG. 7 or it may be screwed through the threads 58 and enteredinto the screw threads 55 in pin 48 thereby to clamp the bow limbagainst the rear socket wall portion 27, as shown in FIG. 5. Thisarrangement permits the thumb screws 56 to be retained in the handlesection when the limbs are disassembled thereby. preventing their lossor misplacement. hasmuch as the diameter of the blind holes 54 isconsiderably larger in diameter than the screw threaded ends 59 of thethumb screws, the thumb screws need not beretracted into the screwthreads 58 in the handle section, as shown in F lG. 7 but need only bejust retracted from the screw threads'55 in the pins 48 to permitassembly or disassembly of the limbs. In such position the smallsections are entered into the sockets they are required to be tiltedforward slightly to permit entry of the projecting stud portions 50 intothe counterbores 52 in the handle sections. This entry of the lir'n'bsinto the sockets in a slightly forward tilted positionis permitted bythe shorter forward socket walls 28 and by relieving an inner portion ofthe'longer rear socket walls 26 as by slightly inclining these innerportions as shown at 29 in FIG. 5. i I

ln assembling the limbs in the preferred form of the invention the limbbutt sections are entered into the sockets in a slightly forward tiltedposition until the grooves-35 receive the pins 40. The outer portions ofthebutt sections are then pushed rearward causing the projections 50 ofthe "pins 48 to be snapped into the counterbores 52. Thereafter, thethumb screws 56 are screwed into the 'screw threads 55 in pins 48 andtightened. The outer rear surface portions 38 of the butt sections arenow firmly clamped against the parallel outer wall portions 27 of therear socket wall, see FIGS. 5 and 6. l l

The term snapped has been employedin characterizing the entry of theprojecting stud portions 50 of pins 48 into the counterbores 52 becausethese stud portions do not enter the counterbores 52 along a preciseaxial line but are rather swung in as the limbs are moved from theirslightly forwardly tilted free entry position to a position in which theforward and rear sides of the limbs are parallel with the parallelforward and rear wall portions of the socket between which the'limb buttsections fit very closely.

Upon disassembly, after the bow is unbraced and the thumb screws56 arebacked out of the threads in pins- 48, a slight bump applied by the heelof the hand to the rear surface of the bow limbs just outward from thesockets easily disengages the stud portions 50 and the limbs arethereafter freely withdrawn in a slightly forward tilted position. I

It will be seen that the perpendicular dimension betweenthelongitudinally-spaced parallel forward and rear socket wall portions 28and 27 may be made such that the limb butt sections fit very closelybetween these wallportions while at the same time the limbs may beeasily entered or withdrawn therefrom by slightly tilting themvforward.It will. also be seen that the fit of the limb butt sections betweenthese wall portions must be held close so as to maintain the deflexangle of the limbs which is quite critical in that small variationseffect the shooting characteristics of the bow.

When the bow is strung or braced, as shown in FIG.

' l, the force applied to the outer ends of the limbs tries to rotatethe limb butt sections about a point of contact near the outer ends ofthe rear socket walls 26. This force is resisted by the forward socketwalls 28. When the bow is drawn in shooting, this force is increasedsomewhat but when the bow is released from the drawn position to returnto its braced position the limb butt sections do not tend to rotateoppositely; This is true because the force applied to the'outer ends ofthe limbs by the bow string in the braced position is sufficient toprevent any counter rotation of the limb butt sections. It is notnecessary therefore to clamp the limb butt sections to therear socketwalls by thumb screws 56 when the is braced or when it is drawn andreleased in shooting. The thumb screws 56 are provided primarily as asafety. measure to prevent the limbs from being thrown out of theirsockets in event the bow string should break while shooting. A secondarypurpose of the thumb screws is to prevent the inadvertant disassembly ofthe limbs when the bow is notstrung or braced. While the limb receivingsockets 24 in'the endsof the handle section are shown as having partialside walls 32 in addition to forward and rear walls 28 and 26,these sidewalls 32may be formed as complete walls if desired or they may beeliminated altogether insofar as they are not required to align orretain the limbs in the described preferred embodiment and function onlyto strengthen the handle section, protect the lateral sides of the limbsand enhance the appearance ,of. the bow. it will be seen therefore thatin a modified arrangement in which the side walls 32 are eliminatedentirely the socket 24 would become merely a notch or recess 24 withforward and rear walls 28 and 26 as described and the exclusive use ofsuch arrangement is contemplated.

Also, while in the preferred form of the invention pins 40 cooperatingwith grooves 35 retain the ends of the limb butt sections againstlateral movement, it is obvious that portions of side walls 32 near thebottoms of the sockets-could be spaced so as to neatly fit the widthofthe limb butt sections at their ends and thereby retain the ends of thebutt sections against lateral movement.

Further, while the stud portions 50 are shown fixed to the bow limbs andenter counterbores 52 in the rear socket walls, it is obvious that areversal of this arrangement may be employed without departing from thespirit of the invention. That is, these projections 50 may be fixed inthe rear walls of the sockets and enter counterbores in the rear sidesof the limbs.

I claim: a

l. A take down bow having a handle section and a de-. tachable bow limbbutt section, a socket formed in the end of said handle sectionreceiving the butt section of the limb, said socket having a bottomwall, a shorter forward wall and a longer rear wall, each of said foringforeand aft across said socket near its bottom wall,

and said opposed lateral surfaces near the end of said said limb buttsectionv receiving said pin.

ward and rear walls having a surface portion, which a surface portionsare parallel and with the rear wall surface portion being spacedlongitudinally outward from the forward wall surface portion, said limbbutt section having parallel forward and rear surfaces and said buttsection closely fitting between said longitudinally spaced socket wallsurface portions, means fixed in said handle section near the bottom ofsaid socket engaging opposed lateral surfaces at the terminal-end ofsaid limb butt section, and means spaced outwardly from the bottom ofsaid socket and in the area of contact of said rear socket wall surfaceportion with said rear butt section surface and comprising a projectionfixed with respectto one of said contacting surfaces for slidablyentering and closely fitting into a recess in the handle section andcooperating with said fixed means near the bottom of said socket tolaterally align the bow limb with the handle. section and retain it inalignment against lateral movement, and said rear socket wall havingrelief means adjacent the bottom wall of said socket for permittingtilting of the butt limb section so as to allow insertion of said limbbutt section into said socket.

2. The bow claimed in claim 1 in which said fixed means near the bottomof said socket engaging opposed lateral surfaces on said butt sectionnear its end comprises a pin fixed in said handle section and extend- 3.The bow claimed in claim 2 in which the pin extending fore and aftacross the bottom of said socket has a portion thereof extending throughthe forward wall of said socket, which portion is screw threaded andadapted to receive the screw threaded inner end of a bow stabilizingelement. a

.4. The bow claimed in claim 1 in which said projection fixed withrespect to one of said contacting surfaces comprises a pin fixed in saidlimb butt section and having a short portion extending from the rearsurface of said limb butt section which slidably enters a recess in saidrearv wall surface. of saidsocket in close fitting relationshiptherewith.

5. The bow claimed in claim 4 in which said pin has a screw threadedaxial bore in the extended end thereof and in which a headed screwextending through said rear wall of said socket is engageable with saidscrew threaded bore so asv to clamp said butt section to said rearsocket wall. i

6. The bow claimed in claim 5 in which said pin has a counterbore in theextended end thereof leading to the said screw threaded bore therein andsaid rear socket wall has a screw threaded bore therethrough of the samesize as said screw threaded bore insaid pin and in axial alignmenttherewith, and said headed screw has a short screw threaded end portionadapted to threadedly engage and pass through said screw threaded borein said rear socket wall and to engage said screw threads in said pin,and said headed screw having an intermediate shank portion of smallerdiameter than said screw threaded portion whereby said headed screw maybe retained in said rear socket wall when disengaged from said screwthreads in said pin while permitting the pin to be entered or removedfrom the bore in said rear socket wall while assembling or disassemblingthe limb.

7. A take down bow having a handle section and a detachable bow limbhaving a butt section, a socket formed inan end of said handle sectionreceiving said butt section of the limb, said socket having a bottomwall, a rear wall anda forward wall which is substan tially shorter thansaid rear wall, said forward andrear walls each having a surface portionwhich surface portions are parallel, said butt section having parallelforward and rear surfaces which closely fit between said parallel wallsurfaces, means fixed with respect to said handle section near thebottom of said socket for engaging opposed lateral surfaces of said buttsection near its end, and means spaced outwardly from the bottom of saidsocket and positioned in the area of contact of the surfaces of the rearsocket wall and the rear surface of the butt section, said lastmentioned means comprising a projection means fixed with respect to oneof said contacting surfaces and adapted to slidably enter a recess inthe other of said contacting surfaces for cooperating with said fixedmeans near the bottom of said socket to laterally align the bow limbwith respect to the handle section and to retain it in alignment againstlateral movement, the contact area of one of said surfaces being limitedto an area near the outer end of said longer rear socket wall and one ofsaid surfaces having means to allow entry of said butt section into saidrecess in a suff ciently forward tilted position to permit the entry ofsaid projection into said recess.

8. The take down bow claimed in claim 7 which includes a pair ofdetachable bow limbs and the other end of said handle section having asocket.

9. A take down bow having an upper and a lower-detachable bow limbs havebutt sections a rigid handle section and a bow string, a socket formedin each end of said handle section, said sockets having forward, rearand side walls formed as integral portions of said handle section, saidforward wall being substantially shorter than said rear wall and saidforwardandrear walls having longitudinally parallel forward and rearwall surfaces, the butt sections of said limbs having longitudinallyparallel forward and rear sides and being entered in fittingrelationship between said parallel socket wall surfaces, said forwardand rear longitudinally parallel socket wall surfaces being inclinedwith respect to said bow string when the bow is assembled and bracedthereby to provide a predetermined deflex angle of the bow limbs, andmeans operative to align and retain said limbs in lateral alignmentcomprising fixed laterally opposed surfaces in said sockets near thebottoms thereof a cooperating with laterally opposed surfaces on theends of said limb butt sections, and a means forming a part of andprojecting fromthe rear side of each limb butt section at a point spacedfrom its end for entering a recess in the rear wall of each of saidsockets to prevent lateral movement of said limbs, and a portion of saidrear socket wall surfaces adjacent the bottoms of said sockets beingrelieved to permit the forward tilted entry of said limbs into saidsockets and the entry of said pins into said recesses.

1. A take down bow having a handle section and a detachable bow limbbutt section, a socket formed in the end of said handle sectionreceiving the butt section of the limb, said socket having a bottomwall, a shorter forward wall and a longer rear wall, each of saidforward and rear walls having a surface portion, which surface portionsare parallel and with the rear wall surface portion being spacedlongitudinally outward from the forward wall surface portion, said limbbutt section having parallel forward and rear surfaces and said buttsection closely fitting between said longitudinally spaced socket wallsurface portions, means fixed in said handle section near the bottom ofsaid socket engaging opposed lateral surfaces at the terminal end ofsaid limb butt section, and means spaced outwardly from the bottom ofsaid socket and in the area of contact of said rear socket wall surfaceportion with said rear butt section surface and comprising a projectionfixed with respect to one of said contacting surfaces for slidablyentering and closely fitting into a recess in the handle section andcooperating with said fixed means near the bottom of said socket tolaterally align the bow limb with the handle section and retain it inalignment against lateral movement, and said rear socket wall havingrelief means adjacent the bottom wall of said socket for permittingtilting of the butt limb section so as to allow insertion of said limbbutt section into said socket.
 2. The bow claimed in claim 1 in whichsaid fixed means near the bottom of said socket engaging opposed lateralsurfaces on said butt section near its end comprises a pin fixed in saidhandle section and extending fore and aft across said socket near itsbottom wall, and said opposed lateral surfaces near the end of said limbbutt section are side walls of a notch in the end of said limb buttsection receiving said pin.
 3. The bow claimed in claim 2 in which thepin extending fore and aft across the bottom of said socket has aportion thereof extending through the forward wall of said socket, whichportion is screw threaded and adapted to receive the screw threadedinner end of a bow stabilizing element.
 4. The bow claimed in claim 1 inwhich said projection fixed with respect to one of said contactingsurfaces comprises a pin fixed in said limb butt section and having ashort portion extending from the rear surface of said limb butt sectionwhich slidably enters a recess in said rear wall surface of said socketin close fitting relationship therewith.
 5. The bow claimed in claim 4in which said pin has a screw threaded axial bore in the extended endthereof and in which a headed screw extending through said rear wall ofsaid socket is engageable with said screw threaded bore so as to clampsaid butt section to said rear socket wall.
 6. The bow claimed in claim5 in which said pin has a counterbore in the extended end thereofleading to the said screw threaded bore therein and said rear socketwall has a screw threaded bore therethrough of the same size as saidscrew threaded bore in said pin anD in axial alignment therewith, andsaid headed screw has a short screw threaded end portion adapted tothreadedly engage and pass through said screw threaded bore in said rearsocket wall and to engage said screw threads in said pin, and saidheaded screw having an intermediate shank portion of smaller diameterthan said screw threaded portion whereby said headed screw may beretained in said rear socket wall when disengaged from said screwthreads in said pin while permitting the pin to be entered or removedfrom the bore in said rear socket wall while assembling or disassemblingthe limb.
 7. A take down bow having a handle section and a detachablebow limb having a butt section, a socket formed in an end of said handlesection receiving said butt section of the limb, said socket having abottom wall, a rear wall and a forward wall which is substantiallyshorter than said rear wall, said forward and rear walls each having asurface portion which surface portions are parallel, said butt sectionhaving parallel forward and rear surfaces which closely fit between saidparallel wall surfaces, means fixed with respect to said handle sectionnear the bottom of said socket for engaging opposed lateral surfaces ofsaid butt section near its end, and means spaced outwardly from thebottom of said socket and positioned in the area of contact of thesurfaces of the rear socket wall and the rear surface of the buttsection, said last mentioned means comprising a projection means fixedwith respect to one of said contacting surfaces and adapted to slidablyenter a recess in the other of said contacting surfaces for cooperatingwith said fixed means near the bottom of said socket to laterally alignthe bow limb with respect to the handle section and to retain it inalignment against lateral movement, the contact area of one of saidsurfaces being limited to an area near the outer end of said longer rearsocket wall and one of said surfaces having means to allow entry of saidbutt section into said recess in a sufficiently forward tilted positionto permit the entry of said projection into said recess.
 8. The takedown bow claimed in claim 7 which includes a pair of detachable bowlimbs and the other end of said handle section having a socket.
 9. Atake down bow having an upper and a lower detachable bow limbs have buttsections a rigid handle section and a bow string, a socket formed ineach end of said handle section, said sockets having forward, rear andside walls formed as integral portions of said handle section, saidforward wall being substantially shorter than said rear wall and saidforward and rear walls having longitudinally parallel forward and rearwall surfaces, the butt sections of said limbs having longitudinallyparallel forward and rear sides and being entered in fittingrelationship between said parallel socket wall surfaces, said forwardand rear longitudinally parallel socket wall surfaces being inclinedwith respect to said bow string when the bow is assembled and bracedthereby to provide a predetermined deflex angle of the bow limbs, andmeans operative to align and retain said limbs in lateral alignmentcomprising fixed laterally opposed surfaces in said sockets near thebottoms thereof cooperating with laterally opposed surfaces on the endsof said limb butt sections, and a means forming a part of and projectingfrom the rear side of each limb butt section at a point spaced from itsend for entering a recess in the rear wall of each of said sockets toprevent lateral movement of said limbs, and a portion of said rearsocket wall surfaces adjacent the bottoms of said sockets being relievedto permit the forward tilted entry of said limbs into said sockets andthe entry of said pins into said recesses.